nessa

I gave this to my sweetie. As much as I adore him, it fits. He still has the bottle.Arrogant Bastard Ale

Yes, Pan, when I saw the name change thats exactly what I thought. Screw this PC crap, its PUTANESCA! It is getting hard to find around here unfortunately even thougth Barilla is everywhere, the putanesca is not.

I like the Barilla Black and Green Olive. It used to be called Putanesca, which is what I still call it. I eat it out of the jar. Cold. God I love olives!! It is on the salty side, which doesn't bother me at all.

Oh my. I grew up in Austin. What about Dirty Martin's? Both Dirty's and the G&M were around when my Dad went to UT. Every now and then when I was young, Dad would take me to Dirty's for onion rings and a burger, or to the G&M for one of their steaks and their salads. Not great food but it brought back such good memories for Dad, and they were special times for me. I remember Quackenbush's back in the way early 90's when I went to UT. Ah, the crowbars. I guess after more than 10 years its changed, and not for the better? MD&B, what great shakes they used to have. I'm sad to hear they have closed/relocated.

Incredibly. Ahem. I find a mix of the tabasco and the white cheddar cheeze-its to be a particularly fine snack.

Ooops. At first read, I thought it said Hazelnut olive oil! So I came to investigate. Now I want to find this in my area to try it. Anyone know of any distributors in Dallas?

I'm not sure actually what is for dessert. Its my birthday and I hope to be taken to this charming little lebanese place. If so, they have this custard thing in phyllo called shaibet that is really quite nice. Custard. That figures, eh? If I knew of a place that served spectacular desserts, I'd probably just have two desserts and a cappy.

Why? I happen to like both the tartar and the pozole, petit pois and greens. I'm able to say "no thanks" politely to the glandular matter so no need to belittle their choice. I'm not big on conflict, personally. According to the dessert poll, I'm a custard and not much ruffles my feathers. Or something like that. Why expend all that energy on angst? I could be having dessert instead

cumin, chipotle, cilantro Edited to add: alliteration at its finest!

Ok. Deep breath. I like food from everywhere. From Asia to Africa, Scotland to Turkey, California to Texas. I like grilled cheese and I like wasabi encrusted wild salmon. For the most part, I like rustic food, not the "fancy" stuff. I love ethnic food with a passion. I want to explore the rich diversity of flavors from one end of the spectrum to the other. I do not eat offal, viscera or innards. Except that one smoked foie gras thing that one time at that wine tasting..... or that time in Germany where the "nierenspeise" on a stick sure looked and smelled good. Too bad it didn't taste good. I have no desire to eat fish eggs and champaigne tastes like bubbly grapefruit juice to me. I cannot tell the difference between Veuve Cliquot and whats at the grocery store. Whats more, I don't particulary care to. Please just give me a nice cabernet or shiraz. Everyone has their preferences, and I don't think that one has to like all the expensive stuff to appreciate that it is high cuisine. I dont think your preference has to be for high cuisine for you to be a foodie either. I think its good to be exposed to things, and important to know and learn about different foods, but the mere experience of being exposed to the finest caviar doesn't mean that you have to like it! Y'all! Sweetbreads are GLANDS. EWEWEWEW. For me this forum is about getting to talk to other people that have a passion for food. Its not about who spends the most on food, who makes the most technically complex meal, its about sharing a passion. Its also about learning and being exposed to new foods, techniques etc. I've only been a member for a few weeks but I certainly did get the slight impression from some posters that if you prefered pozole to steak tartar then you were just not *quite* worthy. This is such a great thread, I'm loving getting this off my chest! So there! Thanks Y'all How about some gumbo and barbecue!

Man. I grew up in a small town in Texas and my mother still managed to torture us with all varities of fresh veggies. Squashes were her favorite. Yellow crook neck was my fav, along with zukes. But the spaghetti squash, sans butter and pretty much any other flavoring..... dear god. I won't eat it today. Well, I might. But our of rebellion I'd have to have it swimming in a lake of butter and herbs.

Must be risotto week. I made my first risotto this week. I used mushrooms, pancetta, parm, truffle oil and chardonnay. I'm hooked I think the smoked turkey stock sounds fabulous!

For me it was lasagne. My mother, bless her heart, had this strange idea of what constituted lasagne. Hers contained no noodles. Sliced zuccini was the substitute. No meat either that I recall. No ricotta, she used cottage cheese. She did use tomato sauce, but I don't recall any mozz. I could be mistaken. Needless to say I was not wild about lasagne. I just thought it was a watery combo of cheese and veggies. Nothing revolting, but certainly nothing I'd ask for! As I grew up, I understood that other people used noodles, but had no desire to order lasagne. Then I got married. The ex's favorite dish was lasagne. So, I found a recipe. I was amazed at what went into it. Italian sausage? Ricotta? What WAS that anyway.... found it at the store, apparently it was a common item. All I has was this big old turkey roasting pan, what was a lasagne pan? I layered and layered until it was full, and topped with cheese. I rather liked it! I was shocked at how different it was. That was the first Debunking the Mother Myth for me. But I gotta hand it to Ma, she did cook healthily for her family. Her meals were always nutritous. Don't get me started on her version of Chile Rellenos. She loves it and so my sister and I fork it down instead of telling her we don't like it. My mother never fried anything, to the best of my knowledge. I learned how to fry from another girl's mom in highschool. In my mother's defense, because she is the Queen of unintentional guilt trips and I'd feel rotten if I didn't defend her dear sweet heart, she is a much better and more adventerous cook now.

OKRAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!! I love the stuff. I like it slime-less and I like it slimy. My grandmother was the first to introduce it to me, and she would take some bacon, render the fat, then slice the okra and fry it in the fat. To that she added cubed potatos and large chunks of chopped onion and continued to fry until everything was crispy. Then she would throw the bacon back in and add salt and cayenne pepper to taste. Fried is my favorite way to consume okra but a good, HOT pickled okra is also hard to beat. I've been known to eat the whole jar before I get home from the store. They are great stewed with tomatoes, and juust about every other way I've had it. It ain't gumbo if it ain't got the okra. I love it in ethnic foods too. Man, whats not to like??? Now ya made me crave the slimy little critters and I'll have to go pick some up from the store. See what you started??? I think its time to make Grandma's dish. Thanks for the memories

My garlic press is my oldest, and perhaps most used tool. Perhaps my favorite christmas gift yet, as it was given to me the year I moved out and had my own kitchen. To me it was like the end all be all of being a gourmet cook. I was young, but getting that and some all clad, really triggered my development and interest in finer cooking. Weird, huh? That sucker is going on 11 years now, and I will cry if it ever bites the dust, but since its all metal, I bet its got a few years left on it.

I thought of the proofing aspect, but my sourdough loaves are just too big for this POS bread maker. I just use a big ceramic bowl and a tea towel and set that baby in the oven. Easier to clean too. Maybe I just need to learn to make smaller batches of dough

Gawd. I had one of those things. The ex loved it. The ex kept it! I was so excited when we got it, real espresso! My very own cappy every morning.... First cup, I was like.... ummmm, where's the crema??? What is this crap? Did we do it wrong? Ex was like... what's crema? It did a nice job of frothing milk I guess. I'd love to get one that makes the good stuff, how much will that set me back? My most unused food related gift item is a bread maker. Whatta load of crap that makes! Nasty, dry, square with a beater up its *** loaves. I only use it maybe once a year to knead pizza dough, if I'm feeling particularly lazy. I really should just junk it, for the space it takes up in the cabinet. Heh. Want a pre-owned bread screwer upper?

I am SOOOOO jealous. Eat up! I've yet to find anything like it back here, regardless of where I go.

My uncle is a world traveled epicurean, and every time I'm with him, not only do I have absolutely fantabulous meals, but I learn something. This year we went to his place in Rhinebeck NY for Christmas. We went out to lunch at a place in the mountains, and when it came for dessert, the waiter asked who wanted coffee or dessert. Or???? I usually would order both at the same time.... So we ordered and my Uncle said that we would like our coffee served after our dessert course. Sounded reasonable to me. We got them at the same time, and he had the coffee sent back. Service was not stellar, nor was the dessert, unfortunately. After we were done, they brought out (fresh) the coffee drinks that we had ordered and we sat and sipped the coffee and chatted for a while. I have to say I'm a new convert to coffee after dessert. It was a nice way to end the meal, relaxing, sipping, just appreciating the coffee, its flavor, its smell. Of course anything after those desserts would have been good... I know this is in another thread as well but what is up with all the crap desserts being served. Its gotten so bad that even I, who have a sweet tooth an elephant would be proud of, tend to not even bother and just order a cappy. Cheese before meal please. Or cheese as meal.

OH, in THAT case, Hands down my fav "sandwich" would be the Doner Kebap found on a thousand street corners, and nooks in Germany. Turkish immigrants have really made this popular Thick flat bread, a slab of feta, real lamb, tomatos, lettuce and a spicy creamy garliky tsatziki like sauce. God help me but I'd swim back to Germany to have another of those. I bet they are even better in Turkey!

Thunderclouds in Austin, but only that fantabulous veggie sandwich with the cream cheese, avacado, olives, onions, sprouts.... MAN!!!! In College Station: Freebirds. Puts Chipotle's to a cryin' shame. Ok so Dallas has one now too for us displaced souls. I've het to swing by. Wings-n-more. Wait, I think thats a sit down place, but hey, its wings! In East Dallas there is this little Mom and Pop joint called the Dairy-ette. Its an old fashopned drive in burger bar kinda deal. Fabulous burgers and rings, cheap and pretty fast.... They even make their own root beer! I'm new to Dallas but I'm keeping my eye out for neat new places.

The only fast food sandwiches I like come from Schlotzkys! The bread makes it. I can't stand the soft puffy white crap at burger joints or even subway. For me, the Schlotzsky's has the perfect bread to other stuff ratio. I did sourdough in a major way. Its nice, chewy, tangy, sometimes spicy. Its nice that it comes with your choice of goodies inside too! Its the only chain that tempts me, draws me in with a siren's call and a promise of some of the best salt and vinegar chips on the side. I suppose quizno's would be a distant second choice. They are, in my opinion far superior to subway but not on par with Schlotzskys.

WHOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO talk about a trip down memory lane! I was born in San Fransisco in '72. My mother used to make these things she called "Itzits" She would take two freshly baked chocolate chip cookies, and spread icecream in between. I have such happy memories of that, it was a treat indeed, when we had been good. Its interesting to see that it was not something she made up to amuse her kids! And Sees!!! Our biggest delight was to get to go into the See's store and pick out which lollypop we wanted. Mother said that if we were going to have sweets, we would have the good stuff. I had all but thought they were figments of my overactive imagination, when I saw a store in Houston in the late 80's. Then a few years ago, a dear friend sent me a box of See's lolly's and my darling SO brought me another box of lollypops and an assortment of their candies. I didn't even realize they made candy other than the lollypops So to this day, the butterscotch and chocolate lollypops are my favorite and always elicit a happy trip down memory lane as I lick every last bit of sitcky goodness off the stick! I bought my darling a box this year for Christmas, and I'm afraid I stole the marzipan one. FANtabulous!!!!

Here is a link for all you nostalgic sorts Old Time Candy Neat-o site. All of my favorites have been touched on. I recall back in the late 70's before Toblerone could be found in the states, my Swiss cousins would bring the family a bar every time they visited. We savored each delicious triangle. It gets top billing for me. Chocolate AND honey... *swoon* Then comes Bit-o-Honey and Skor, and Butterfingers and Violet Crumble. I also adore fresh Havla. And what about Chile and Watermelon suckers??? This is sort of new to me, but its popular with the Hispanic crowd. Imagine my surprise when I started sucking on this lollypop and realized there was actually chile powder involved? My first reaction was EW this is kinda like when dad put salt on watermelon. Wait, theres a peppery taste too. EW EW EW EW. Hmm. *slurp* Hmmm. I love em and cant find them now. I can however, find a less refined treat that is a chile and mango sucker. Less refined cause the whole thing is coated in chile instead of just incorporated. Quite a nice change from the ordinary, and I love the sweet/hot combo! I got some cookies a few months back that were chipotle-chocolate. A huge hit with me. Anyone else like chile with their sweet? Edited to add: Mary-Janes!!!

Any way I can get it on my plate! I tend to throw it in stir fry, but a favorite way is with fresh chile paste. I'll sautee it lightly in some sesame oil, add garlic, throw in a dash of mushroom soy, sweetend rice vinegar, and then the pepper stuff. Cook long enough to coat, and serve over sushi rice.